Nutrition and cancer: state of the art relationship of several nutrients to the development of cancer.

Nutrition and cancer interact in a number of important ways and nutritional factors are increasingly recognized as relevant to both the prevention and treatment of cancer. The role of several nutrients in cancer development is considered briefly here. Deficiency of riboflavin (Vitamin B2) prolongs the survival of tumor-bearing animals, but may accelerate carcinogenesis caused by certain agents, as flavin cofactors are involved in drug and carcinogen metabolism. Deficiency of Vitamin A may enhance the development of tumors of epithelial origin, particularly lung. Evidence is accumulating that Vitamin A and/or its precursors, the B-carotenes, may possibly have an effect in chemoprevention of certain of these epithelial cancers both in animals and in man. The consumption of dietary fat among various nations is correlated closely with increased development of cancers of the breast, colon, and prostate, and possibly of other organs. Studies of migrant populations from Japan to the United States show changes in prevalence of stomach and colon cancer in the direction of the native United States population. Sources of nitrites are of concern because of their potential conversion to carcinogenic nitrosamines. Limitation of the delivery of nitrites may be difficult to accomplish so investigators are exploring the blockade of conversion of nitrites to nitrosamines. Nutrition should not be viewed as the sole means of cancer prevention and treatment but rather as a vital component of any treatment plan.